Newness of Life

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.” In his book, Prayer, Richard Foster points out that God waits and longs to be loved. He goes on to make the bold claim that God is more tender hearted than anyone, though we do not often see him this way. And yet, how could he be less tender than the most tender human heart? Foster emphasizes how easily moved is this Tender-Hearted One, moved by our tears, and moved by our loving gestures towards him, weak as they may be. He surrounds us with tender mercies. Foster’s reflections on the character of God caused me to consider, once again, the consequences of that fateful day in the garden, when we chose to eat from the wrong tree. I am familiar with the idea that our shame and sense of condemnation caused us to hide from God. However, this morning, I saw that there is more involved in the reason why our ancestral parents hid from God, and why we still dive for the nearest thorn bush when have missed the